Wire-fence stay



' (No Model.)

P. FRANTZ. WIRE FENCE STAY.

No. 536,784. Patented Apr. 2, 1895.

Ai W N Wilgesscs INTTED STATES PATENT @rmcn.

PETER FRANTZ, OF GIRARD, ILLINOIS.

WIRE-FENCE STAY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 536,784, dated April 2, 1895.

Application filed Au t 29, 1894. Serial No. 521,617- (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, PETER FRANTZ, a citizen of the United States, residing at Girard, in the county of Macoupin and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Fence, of which the. following is a specification.

The invention relates to improvements in fences.

The object of the present invention is to improve the construction of wire fences, and to provide a simple and inexpensive one, which will possess great strength and durability, and which will be capable of readily yielding to any lateral strain, without being injured thereby.

The invention consists in the construction and novel combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and pointed out in the claim hereto appended.

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a fence constructed in accordance with this invention. Fig. 2 is an enlarged detail perspective view, illustrating the construction of the fence stays. Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the same. Fig. 4 is a detail perspective view, illustrating the manner of attaching the ends of the stay to the top and bottom fence wires or cables.

Like numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures of the drawings.

1, l designate fence posts, to which are secured top and bottom fence wires 2, and intermediate fence wires 3, which are designed to be maintained at the desired tension by suitable wire tighteners- (not shown), of any desired construction. The top and bottom wires of the fence consist, preferably, of light cables, as shown; and all of the fence wires are connected at intervals by flexible stays 4 secured at their ends to the cables.

The stay is composed of a series of links 5 and 5 which are provided at their terminals with upper eyes 6 and lower eyes 7. The upper and lower links 8 are preferably provided adjacent to the cables with coils embracing the same, and passing between the wires thereof, whereby the stay is firmly secured at the desired point on the fence.

The ends of the stay are applied to the top and bottom fence wires or cables, when the said coils are open, as illustrated in Fig.4 of I The eyes of the upper ends of the links 5 and 5 are arranged vertically, and receive the adjacent horizontal fence wire which passes through the said eye. The lower eye7 is disposed horizontally, and is located beneath the upper eye of the adjacent link, and receives and encircles the link below the upper eye thereof; and adjacent to the horizontally disposed eye, the link is outwardly curved, at 9, to clear the adjacent upper eye 6.

At the lower halt'of the fence, the wires 3 are located at shorter intervals than those forming the upper portion of the fence, in order to exclude eifectually small animals. The lower links 5 are, therefore, shorter than the upper ones, and the upper links 5 are constructed of two sections, provided at their inner ends with eyes 6, which are linked into each other. This construction prevents the upper links from being bent undera strain.

The stays 4 may be readily applied to and removed from a fence, and the stretching of one wire more than the other does not alter the position of a stay on the fence.

It will be seen that the stays are simple and comparatively inexpensive in construction, that they are readily applicable to the ordinary construction of wire fence, and that they are capable of imparting strength and elasticity to the same. It will also be apparent that the stay is capable of telescoping with the links sliding on each other, and that the eyes 6 loosely receive the intermediate fence wires, and permit the same to be stretched or moved longitudinally, without altering the position of the stay.

Changes in the form, proportion, and the minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the principle or sacrificing any of the advantages of this-invention.

What I claim is- The combination with a fence, having horizontal fence wires, and provided with top and bottom cables, consisting of twisted wires, of a stay provided at its terminals with partial coils passing between the wires of the top and bottom cables and secured against longitudinal movement on the cables, said stay comprising a series of links provided at one end with a vertical eye loosely receiving a fence wire and having at its other end a horizontal eye loosely embracing the adjacentlink contiguous to the vertical eye, each link being provided at the vertical eye of the adjacent link with a curved portion 9 to clear the same, said links being capable of a telescoping movement on each other, and having a free 1 

